The Albans were

Latins The Latins were originally an Italic tribe in ancient central Italy from Latium. As Roman power and colonization spread Latin culture during the Roman Republic. Latins culturally "Romanized" or "Latinized" the rest of Italy, and the word Latin ...

from the ancient city of

Alba Longa Alba Longa (occasionally written Albalonga in Italian sources) was an ancient Latin city in Central Italy, 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Rome, in the vicinity of Lake Albano in the Alban Hills. Founder and head of the Latin League, it wa ...

, southeast of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Some of Rome's prominent patrician families such as the

Julii The gens Julia (''gēns Iūlia'', ) was one of the most prominent patrician families in ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Republic. The first of the family to obtain t ...

, Servilii,

Quinctii The gens Quinctia, sometimes written Quintia, was a patrician family at ancient Rome. Throughout the history of the Republic, its members often held the highest offices of the state, and it produced some men of importance even during the imper ...

, Geganii, Curiatii and Cloelii were of Alban descent.

Origins

According to Roman mythology,

Ascanius Ascanius (; Ancient Greek: Ἀσκάνιος) (said to have reigned 1176-1138 BC) was a legendary king of Alba Longa and is the son of the Trojan hero Aeneas and Creusa, daughter of Priam. He is a character in Roman mythology, and has a divine ...

, son of

Trojan War In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans ( Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and ...

hero

Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...

, founded the Alban tribe when he settled in

around 1152 BC. Literary sources suggest the city’s name is derived from the white (''alba'') sow

saw when arriving in

Latium Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire. Definition Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil ( Old Latium) on w ...

. Based on limited archaeological evidence, experts say the Alban tribe inhabited the long ridge between the modern-day Lake Albano and Monte Cavo.

Power in Latium

At its height, the Albans and the city of

exerted great power and influence over

. In particular, literary sources such as

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

’s '' Historia Naturalis'' state that Alba Longa headed a league of city-states in Latium, possibly called ''Prisci Latini''. Most of these sources tend to vary regarding the political structure of the alliance as well as Alba Longa’s hegemonic role. Many historians say it is uncertain if the Albans exerted any sort of dominance since most of the surviving sources are biased.Ashby, Thomas. "Alba Longa." ''Journal of Philology'' 27.53 (1899): 37-44. The ''Prisci Latini'' are the colonists sent out by the Alban king, Latinus Silvius, who would be made to submit to Roman authority following the destruction of Alba Longa in the mid-7th century BC. Those colonists would be a part of 30 villages that would form the ''populi Albenses'' which may have been related to the 30 Latin villages of the same time in ancient Latium.

Religious customs

However, Pliny and others generally agree that the communities of

gathered at

for sacrificial rites. Every year in the spring, the tribes would congregate on ''Mons Albanus'' ( Monte Cavo) to worship Iuppiter Latiaris. The festival was known as '' Feriae Latinae''. The major custom in this ceremony was a great banquet, which required all attending cities to bring food, especially meat. These offerings were then divided among the attendants and owning some of the food signified membership within the league.Walbank, F. W., ed. ''The Cambridge Ancient History''. Vol. 7. Cambridge, Great Britain: Cambridge University Press, 1989 Pliny lists 30 tribes participating in the ''Feriae Latinae''. This festival continued as an annual event through the imperial age of

. There is also evidence that leaders from the surrounding tribes of

met at a spring in

known as ''Aqua Ferentia''."Alba Longa." ''A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography''. 1873 ed. This supports the theory that the Albans were central figures in

was also known for its wine and good stone quarries.

Downfall

The prosperity of the Alban people declined in the seventh century BC.

Tullus Hostilius Tullus Hostilius (r. 672–640 BC) was the legendary third king of Rome. He succeeded Numa Pompilius and was succeeded by Ancus Marcius. Unlike his predecessor, Tullus was known as a warlike king who according to the Roman Historian Livy, bel ...

waged war against

and ultimately devastated the city, sparing only the temples. Historians attribute our lack of archaeological evidence to

’ campaign. Indeed, portions of the city wall’s foundation are all that remain. After this victory,

assumed the command that had long been held by the Albans. Many from

immigrated to

following the war and some of

’s most elite patrician families (including the

) trace their heritage back to

, which illustrates its importance in the history of Rome.

Roman gentes of Alban origin

* Cloelia gens * Curiatia gens * Gegania gens *

Julia gens The gens Julia (''gēns Iūlia'', ) was one of the most prominent patrician families in ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Republic. The first of the family to obtain the ...

* Metilia gens *

Numitoria gens The gens Numitoria was an ancient but minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. The first member of this gens to appear in history was Lucius Numitorius, elected tribune of the plebs in 472 BC. Although Numitorii are found down to the final centur ...

* Quinctia gens *

Servilia gens The gens Servilia was a patrician family at ancient Rome. The gens was celebrated during the early ages of the Republic, and the names of few gentes appear more frequently at this period in the consular Fasti. It continued to produce men of i ...

Tullia gens The gens Tullia was a family at ancient Rome, with both patrician and plebeian branches. The first of this gens to obtain the consulship was Manius Tullius Longus in 500 BC, but the most illustrious of the family was Marcus Tullius Cicero, the s ...

Prominent Romans of Alban ancestry

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

, Roman statesman, military and writer. *

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

, Roman statesman, orator, lawyer and philosopher.

References

{{reflist, 2 Ancient Italic peoples Alba Longa